To My Dearest Layla
by p3pp3rmintt
Summary: Jude writes letters to his deceased wife, Layla, as he tries to become a better person and overcome his reprehensible past with his daughter.
1. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer: I do not own the story or the characters from Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima owns them.***

To My Dearest Layla,

I know that it has been awhile since I had last written you a letter; I used to only write to you to motivate Lucy to start the habit after your death to help her cope. You're death was hard on her, on us both. I should have continued to write to you, to keep you alive in my heart just as she had. I'm so sorry Layla. There's so much I need to apologize for, I don't know where to start.

I'm sorry for letting you and Lucy down, for not being there for her when she was finally ready to open back up after your death. I honestly thought that focusing more on the business would be best. How could I be so wrong? I ruined the relationship with the only family I have left, our beloved daughter. I don't have any justifiable reasons on why I treated her so poorly; it just hurt seeing her look so much like you. I should have treasured her, kept her closer to my heart while I had the chance.

Layla, you would be so proud of her if you saw her now. I'm sure she still writes to you about all of her adventures; but it's incomparable to seeing it first-hand. After EVERYTHING I did to her, how I treated her, she still loves me and is willing to forgive me. I don't deserve it.

I'll be honest, although I know you're watching over us, I need to tell you. She joined a guild called Fairy Tail and is a strong, independent celestial wizard. I actually hired another guild to retrieve her a while back so I could try to force her into a marriage. I'm ashamed of my actions now and how I treated her, but seeing her stand up to me so defiantly, she looked just like you when I met you.

I didn't speak with her until recently; again, I'm extremely mortified of how I treated her then as well. I assumed that since she lived with us in the life of luxury that her guild life must be the same. She explained to me how she was just 'plain old Lucy' and didn't have enough money to lend to me. I was angry, thinking she was just being selfish. Now that I look back, I'm sure she would have given it to me in a heartbeat if she did have it. I walked from Magnolia to the old guild, Love and Lucky, I'm sure you remember it, and to my surprise, Lucy was there. Apparently she heard a dark guild had taken over and she came rushing to my rescue, taking out the entire group by herself. She was a bit disappointed that I wasn't already there, but relieved to see that I was alright.

It's been weeks and I don't have the heart to see her again. I need to redeem myself, build myself back up to the man you once loved. No, I'm not talking about getting rich again, although if that comes, I'll accept it a bit more gracefully this time. I want to be a person she can openly accept as a father, to want to have a relationship with. I want to make her proud of me.

I'll write to you again my dearest, please keep watching over our beloved daughter.

Love,

Jude


	2. Chapter 2

***Disclaimer: I do not own the story or the characters from Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima owns them.***

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To My Beloved Layla,

I'm proud to say that I'm already building up another great business through this guild. I've given a lot of money back to the guild for their support, and I have been funding some smaller businesses to help their growth. It reminds me of the days of our youth, back when we first met. You in your wizarding guild, so strong and carefree, it was love at first sight for me. Leaving this guild at that time to build on my business and raise our family was the best decision I've ever made, although I am glad that I've come back.

I have been keeping tabs on Lucy and her guild. They seem to be a rowdy bunch, but as far as I've read, they are a loyal guild. Sometimes she's featured in articles, being a part of a strong team that takes on complicated missions. I have read some of her interviews and I'm proud to say that she really does take after you.

I did find a few pictures of her and some of her guild mates posing in bikinis. I had to have collected at least 20 copies from the youthful men at work because they were openly gaping at the page. You always did joke with me that I would have to do something like that one day, and it's a little on the disturbing side seeing her as a woman men will stare at. I know she is strong and can take care of herself so I don't think badly on her choice to model, I'll just keep myself prepared to ban those magazines from my workplace if she keeps up that habit.

I think I'm getting the hang of this letter writing thing, it helps me feel closer to you once again.

Always yours,

Jude

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 **I want to thank everyone that reviewed:**

 _ **Child at Heart Forever**_

 _ **itchy uchiha**_

 _ **kisstheskyx**_

 _ **Pari forever ft**_

 **I also want to thank everyone that is following and added this story as a favorite. I will add a chapter at least once a week, if not more frequently, maybe 10 chapters all very short. I am still working on my other two stories (Dragon Demolishers and A New World).**

 **I love you all and thank you for reading this.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I want to thank everyone that reviewed this story so far. A shout out to those that reviewed last chapter:**

 _ **PandaPiggy**_

 _ **Pari forever ft**_

 _ **Child at Heart Forever**_

 **Thank you to everyone that is also following this story or has added this as a favorite as well.**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own the story or the characters from Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima owns them.***

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To My Darling Layla,

Business is booming, I can proudly say that all of the smaller companies that I have been helping have flourished and most of the owners want me to be a big part of their companies. I have donated much of the extra income to the local charities and even started giving some anonymously to Lucy's cherished guild.

I still am not ready to see our daughter yet, I feel like I need to work harder to redeem myself before I could face her. I look forward to that day and it is my driving motivation for each new day. I look to you for guidance in these trying times; you were always my support beam.

I have still been keeping tabs on everything, her guild is always in the news for one reason or another. Many of the stories include details on jobs their guild goes overboard on and buildings crumble from destruction. Although I doubt it's our daughter directly, I fear that it is her immediate team that is the center of the chaos. I will keep an ever watchful eye out for her.

Your loving husband,

Jude

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 **I'm so happy everyone likes this so far. =) I'm looking forward to writing more chapters/letters and sharing them with you all. Thank you everyone for the kind words and encouragement to continue this. I love you all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I want to say thank you to everyone that reviewed this story.**

 _ **Child at Heart Forever**_

 _ **PandaPiggy**_

 _ **Pari forever ft**_

 **I appreciate the support. I also want to thank everyone that has added this as a favorite and that is following this story. I'm so happy you are all enjoying this so far.**

* * *

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own the story or the characters from Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima owns them.***

To My Wonderful Layla,

I went to visit Lucy the other day, the first time since that day back at Love and Lucky. She was out training with her friend Cana. Apparently she is helping her friend become an S class mage, whatever that is. From what the man running the shop said, they are the stronger members that can take on the bigger jobs. To think, our little girl has already grown up and instead of wearing those fancy dresses, she is out fighting monsters just like you once did.

I can still call the trip rewarding even though I wasn't able to see her at the time. At the shop, they had action figures of some of the more popular members of the guild. My new prized possession is my Lucy action figure. That's right, action figure. I have been told that her action figure is one of the high sellers. I have placed it on my desk to showcase how proud I am. I don't care about the weird looks I receive from potential clients or that it may be unprofessional, having an action figure of Lucy is almost like having a picture of her. Almost.

One of the few pictures I do have of her was when she was just a small child. The picture is old and crinkled from being left in my wallet for so long. I remember a time, before I acted like a monster towards her, when my wallet was stolen. I didn't care for the wallet or the money; I was so worried about the picture and losing it. I flattened it the best I could and put it in a frame next to a decent photo I found from a magazine of her and her team in the guild. She always seems to be in the middle of that ragtag group, but the smile on her face really is priceless; I wish you could see it Layla.

While at the shop, they informed me that she already has 4 silver keys and 9 golden keys. She has 2 of your golden keys, the rest she has attained herself. I remember how proud you were of the three you had so I understand this accomplishment. She keeps surpassing my expectations and I couldn't feel prouder.

I plan on coming back to visit her once those S class trials are over, I know that she will help her teammate pass!

I look forward to writing about how our visit goes.

Love you forever,

Jude

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 **I hope this letter met all of your standards. =) I got the part of his wallet being stolen and him worrying more about the picture than the wallet and money from the Ice Trails manga, where Gray catches the theif Doronbo.**

 **The rest of the chapters will be filled with angst, I hope you are all ready to grieve with me.**

 **I'll be posting the next letter Thursday!**

 **For those of you on Tumblr, my tumblr name is also p3pp3rmintt if you want to follow me. =)**


	5. Chapter 5

***Disclaimer: I do not own the story or the characters from Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima owns them.***

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To My Cherished Layla,

I'm distressed to write that Lucy is lost to the world right now. The news has spread like wildfire that supposedly this dark dragon of the apocalypse came to Fairy Tail's sacred island and annihilated everything there. It's said that the dark guild Grimoire Hearts attacked them with the council's members merely watching from their boats on the coast. After Fairy Tail supposedly defeated that dark guild, that's when the dragon came. From the reports, not even the island remains.

I don't believe she is dead; I have this strong feeling that she is out there, simply lost to us for the time being. I have given funding to the search teams to continue the search. As of now, Fairy Tail and several other guilds are out there are still searching. I have made arrangements to join in the search as well.

She will come back to us, I just know it. She is too strong willed to go out so quickly. Layla, please continue to watch over her.

I will write to you soon.

Only Yours,

Jude

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 **I want to say thank you to everyone that has reviewed:**

 _ **PandaPiggy**_

 _ **Ms. Haps Happen**_

 _ **Child at Heart Forever**_

 _ **Pari forever ft**_

 **I also want to thank everyone that has followed and added this as a favorite.**

 **I'm sorry that it's not a very long letter, I'm slowly building up the feelz on this. It's heartbreaking seeing his confidence that she's going to come back, yet he has no idea he won't ever see her again yet.**

 **If you follow my other stories, I'm on a small personal break. We had a death in the family this week and it's made writing extremely hard. I can't tell you how long it took me to type this short chapter, although this theme probably wasn't the best for me at the moment.**

 **For this story, I will not give a promised release date for the next chapter, but I will try my best to come out with a new chapter as soon as I can. I love you all and thank you for your support and patience.**


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